Some evidence from the school-restructuring literature indicates that traditional school leadership behaviors and school-based management (SBM) are incongruent. Collaborative relationships between teachers and school leaders are problematic when teachers' duties and performance appraisals are hierarchically decided by school leaders. This paper describes current site-based management reforms, examines current site-based practices in relation to school leadership roles, and suggests ways to redefine school leadership roles and behaviors for successful SBM. Thirty Tennessee principals in schools that had implemented SBM were surveyed about their leadership roles. Findings indicate that principals were ambivalent about their new roles. Sixty-four percent described their leadership roles as ill-defined and misunderstood. Principals reported that they wanted to help teachers adjust to SBM, yet they were reluctant to relinquish authority to teachers. Seventy-three percent said that they felt unprepared as an administrator for SBM. A conclusion is that SBM cannot be successfully implemented unless school leaders are prepared to adopt democratic styles of leadership. (Contains 3 figures, 1 table, and 32 references.) (LMI)